


Farewell

by kettercrows



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Book 2: Crooked Kingdom, Book 2: Crooked Kingdom Spoilers, F/M, Inspired by Six of Crows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:48:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27549370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kettercrows/pseuds/kettercrows
Summary: Inej ponders over recent events, taking a few moments to watch over Ketterdam one last time before leaving on her journey to hunt slavers. Takes place post-Crooked Kingdom.
Relationships: Kaz Brekker & Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa
Kudos: 24





	Farewell

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy my first (and hopefully not the only) post :)

The sky bled pink and orange, Ketterdam’s crooked buildings silhouetted against the sun’s rays. Fifth Harbor’s blue haze was barely visible in the distance, a wall of mist suspended above its waters. Though it was the crack of dawn, the Barrel was still bustling with tourists and canal rats alike, winding down from the night’s activities. Inej watched them pass on the street below, overhearing snippets of conversations most would probably prefer to keep to themselves, but why would anyone bother glancing up? Inej closed her eyes. She was perched atop the Slat, wondering if this would ever be her normal again. Wondering if she could still be the Wraith. Wondering if her Saints would allow her to return to Ketterdam in the future.

Two months had passed since the conclusion of the crows’ grand Ice Court heist. Four million  _ kruge _ sat under her name in a bank account, along with a ship— _ her _ own ship—docked in Fifth Harbor. Both remained untouched. Inej had a mission and her freedom, but she didn’t leave. Her fortune or the wretched city didn’t convince her to move on, not even her own family.

Yes, she had been reunited with her beloved parents. A gift from the bastard of the Barrel himself, proof that a thieving trickster did have some decency buried down somewhere. And, despite the blood on her hands and the knives strapped to her body, her parents still loved her. They forgave her for her crimes, for it was the will of the Saints that guided her along the journey. But Inej wasn’t sure if they could feel the same about her friends. She sent her mother and father back to Ravka after a week with the promise that she would visit. Ketterdam didn’t break her spirit but she wasn’t keen on waiting to see what it did to her parents.

Still, after everything she had endured in the streets of the Barrel, she lingered. The Wraith, Queen of Ketterdam’s rooftops. A living master of invisibility, but maybe a bit too skilled. It was true, what the Dregs had been saying: she was scarce. Inej still kept near Jesper and Wylan—she was practically living with them after all—but Kaz… 

They had their moment by the harbor, but it could have been a figment of imagination at this point. Gloves off, his fingers entwined with hers. Holding her steady as she saw her family in the distance.  _ Small steps, _ Inej had told herself then. But if severing ties with someone was part of Kaz’s process, what good of a step was that?

_ I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all. _

Perhaps she could not have him at all.

Inej waited for him at Wylan’s house, a test to see if he would grant himself some leeway to find her. He did not show up. Not a day after, nor a week, not even a month. So she was expendable after all.  _ His investment.  _ Inej watched him carefully after that. It didn’t take her long to find him limping around East Stave, probably scraping alleyways for new recruits. Either that, or he was hustling about Ketterdam, always preoccupied. Inej didn’t bother prying for information on what Kaz was up to. It was clear that Dirtyhands had moved on from the recent past. His hands told her everything she needed to know. They were covered by his gloves.

It was hope for Kaz Brekker that kept her here. Hope for a thief with a gift for unlikely escapes—finally finding a challenge he could not break free from. But Inej could only wait for so long. She had given Kaz his chances, too many of them. Their past was only a memory for her to think back on. A story that had reached its last page. Inej made her decision. Today, she was leaving. 

The Wraith opened her eyes. Her hands slid into her tunic, carefully touching her blades as she whispered their names. One last time, before she stripped away her title for a new one: Captain Ghafa. 

“Saints protect me,” she muttered. A relaxed breath escaped her lips. It was time.

Standing up, Inej moved across the Slat’s roof, making her way towards the lip, where she could easily swing over to a neighboring building. She was about to vault over the side when a peculiar noise caught her by surprise. Familiar. Almost expected. Stopping in her tracks, she listened more intently. It was the  _ thunk _ of a certain criminal’s cane.

A window creaked open, more specifically, the window leading to her broom closet of a room. Inej stood frozen, not trusting herself to speak.

“Wraith.” The rasp of stone on stone.  _ Kaz. _

They couldn’t see each other but Inej managed to form the words she had mulled over since he slipped away from her. They were words she had already spoken to him before, while on the brink of death. She leaned over the edge of the Slat.

“Say you’re sorry, Kaz.”

Silence.  _ He won’t say it.  _ Not then, not now.

“I’m sorry.” Kaz said. That caught her by surprise. Inej was rendered speechless. He continued. “I had to take care of some things.”

Now this—this managed to rile her. Investment or not, they had to be friends at least. He had no right to weave himself in and out of her life and make halfhearted excuses. Not when he was the one who brought them together. 

“Move,” she hissed. Inej planted her hands on the roof, letting momentum and gravity pull her down. She swung through the open window, landing on the wooden floor in a crouch. Slowly, she straightened, her eyes locking onto Kaz’s. His expression was stark—unreadable, per usual.

“Inej,” he nodded.

“I gave you time,” said Inej. “What more do you want?”

His response was barely a whisper. “Inej…” 

“Have we not gone through the worst together, Kaz? Has my dedication to you all been for nothing?” Inej turned away from Kaz, afraid to see confirmation of her fears. “Am I just another pawn piece in your schemes, so easily cast—”

“I’m coming with you.”

Inej spun back around, certain she misheard. “What?”

“That’s what I've been doing Wraith. All these weeks, all this time. I’ve been sorting things out, measures to ensure the Dregs can manage on their own for some time. Not forever, but they’ll survive. This was all last minute, I know. And I’m glad I managed to spot you above the Slat before you left.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me.”

“Figured you’d put the pieces together on your own.”

“Well, I didn’t Kaz.”

“That’s why you need me to come along.”

Just like that, her faith in him was rekindled. For a few moments, they watched each other in silence, Kaz in an unnatural state of unease. Then Inej reached forward, feeling a new sense of security when the bastard of the barrel took her hand.

“Thank you,” Inej whispered.

He pulled away from her, a smile spreading across his face. “The slavers won’t capture themselves. Lead on, Captain Ghafa.”

  
  
  



End file.
